Thu Sep 19 01:12:23 UTC 2024: ## Centre Asks Rajnath Singh, Arjun Meghwal, Kiren Rijiju to Hold Talks with Opposition on ‘One Nation One Election’
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, September 18, approved the proposal for ‘One Nation One Election’, sparking dissent from opposition parties. In a significant development, the central government has tasked three ministers – Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kiren Rijiju – to engage with the opposition on the issue. The government aims to garner support for the ‘One Nation One Election’ proposal across all political parties.
The Election Commission (EC) has informed the government that implementing ‘One Nation One Election’ would require approximately INR 100 billion every 15 years to purchase new Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The EC has highlighted that each EVM has a lifespan of 15 years, and in a ‘One Nation One Election’ scenario, each machine could only be used for three elections.
The EC estimates that around 1.18 million polling booths would be needed for the Lok Sabha elections. Sources within the EC indicate that holding simultaneous assembly elections would necessitate a higher number of EVMs. They emphasize that each polling station would require at least two sets of EVMs – one for Lok Sabha and another for the assembly.
The Centre had constituted a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind on September 2, 2023, to examine the ‘One Nation One Election’ proposal. The committee, after studying election systems in several countries, submitted a 18,626-page report in 191 days.
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